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CREATING A [FASHION] COLLECTION PART II:

CREATING A MOOD BOARD. (NO THIS ISN’T SOMETHING THAT REACTS TO YOUR TEMPERATURE LIKE A MOOD RING)

January 12, 2015

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen for Part II. I hope you’ve enjoyed Part I and you’re ready for some more!

~Alizarin

In this post I will be discussing why mood boards are awesome and why you need to start using them. Like right now.

MOOD BOARDS:WHAT ARE THEY AND WHY ARE THEY AWESOME?

Well thank you for asking!

Mood Boards are a way for designers to put ideas coherently together. It’s all fine and good to have things in your head, but in order to get the big picture, it’s fun to put together things and take a step back. Mood boards are also used for direction of a collection.

They are super duper awesome because they’re fun to do. (Not so fun to do for a homework assignment, but now that I’m out of school, I want to make tons of them.) They’re also awesome because, as stated before, it’s a way to see the overall big picture of what’s floating around in your head. When you become big enough, or get hired at a company, it is a way for everyone to stay on the same page. Communication is key with those you’re working with.

WHAT SHOULD I INCLUDE IN THE MOOD BOARD?

I love using this whenever I can

Well…most of the things.

1.) Usually you’ll want your color scheme (or color schemes if doing several lines that would require such) first and foremost. Color sets up everything you do with your collection. Like….-everything-.

2.)There should also be inspirational images that set the mood and tone of your collection – meaning, they need to be relevant. If you have a collection based off of bright, bubbly things, a close up image of lips with what appears to be blood coming from the sides of them is probably not a good idea. I would go with something like cotton candy, or whatever you find (use color correction, if on the computer, to get the images to the color scheme you are using).

3.) Fabric samples, either digitally or physically depending on method of assembling the board (more on this later). This part may not come right away, but you should have something when you get down to solidifying the ideas. Better to have a bunch of pieces that may work and whittle down than trying to grasp for straws. (This is why it is good to have down your color scheme first because if your color scheme is light, you may want to go with lighter weight fabric compared to a darker scheme where you may pick something with more substance and weight.)

4.) Other inspirational bits and pieces. Be it hardwood or tile samples, beads, glitter, found objects off the street (please don’t steal), glass – whatever it is. (Again, if digitally, you can always take a picture of found objects and put it in the board that way)

5.) Another thing to get into the habit is if you have a logo/brand/company name/designer name, make sure you include it on every board you make. Make sure it is in the same spot. Doing this is called brand/top of the mind awareness. Better to get people knowing you and your brand now.

ASSEMBLING THE MOOD BOARD

I’m sure by this point (or you should be if you followed along with the first post), there should be a plethora of resources for you to pull from to put this thing together.

Unfortunately, there are a million ways to put one together, and I can’t tell you which one is the best (I know, you’ve heard that line a million times. I have while researching myself!). It really is true, though. Everyone has a different way their brain works, and they require different stimuli.

I can, however, give you examples of various styles that can be used.

Digital Boards

Having come about due to the digital age, Digital Boards are easy and efficient. You can go as simple as having a pin board on Pinterest to making something fancy in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator.

Pros: Fast, efficient. Usually easy to use and share with coworkers or friends

Example of one of the ones I’m working on for my FW 2015/16 looks. I included my color scheme, mood images, and some potential fabrications. Also included my logo, as I always do, in the lower right corner

Physical Boards

For those looking for more of a tactile board, physical boards are best. While not as fast as a digital board, in some ways the tactile attributes are more rewarding.

Pros: Tactile advantage – a lot easier to see and feel how everything will work than a digital image on a computer. Get a chance to use all those fun craft supplies you haven’t touched in forever.

Cons: Use of a lot of resources (printed, fabric, other various materials). Space issues.

Sources for Materials (could be for both physical and digital):

Craft stores

Fabric

Jewelry

Paper

Yarn (creative way for displaying color scheme)

etc.

Magazines (physical or digital copies)

Newspapers

Pictures from internet (printed or otherwise)

Hardware stores

Paint chips (works really great for displaying color schemes)

Bits and pieces for whatever may help with inspiration (so like hardwood for texture to incorporate into a fabric print, etc).

Physical/Digitized trend reports if you subscribe to a provider (free or otherwise)

Books

Several of the ones mentioned at the end of this post have good resources of images and histories you can pull details from

Depending on the theme you have, you could also use other various textbooks, such as math, science, etc.

Found objects (please don’t steal!)

TIP: Anything, really, could be used as a resource. Don’t limit yourself to obvious things!

In Fall of 2013 on our New York trip, we had the opportunity to visit Donna Ricco’s studio. This is an example of a physical mood board.